News

​Ugandan CSOs commit to an inclusive UPR process

15/12/2016

Over 100 civil society organisation (CSOs) representatives gathered in Kampala, Uganda, 28 November - 02 December, to participate in a five-day workshop aimed at mobilising civil society engagement with Uganda’s UPR implementation process. Organised on the back of the state’s second UPR review in November 2016, HURINET, OHCHR, Defend Defenders, Lutheran World Federation and UPR Info seized the momentum to debrief CSOs on the recommendations Uganda received and how CSOs can monitor and support implementation. Working in thematic clusters, participants developed implementation plans detailing their expectations on the government and action strategies outlining how they can monitor and contribute to implementation. UPR Info will compile these documents to one implementation plan and one action strategy. The objective is to utilise these instruments as basis for discussion during the foreseen Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on UPR Implementation in Kampala after the adoption of Uganda’s UPR report in March 2017.

At the end of the workshop attending CSOs unanimously adopted an Outcome Charter setting out joint priorities for the implementation phase. The need to advocate for pending recommendations to become accepted and to use tools developed during the workshop to stay engaged throughout the implementation process constituted two chief priorities.

UPR Info also appreciated the invitation by the Democratic Governance Facility to address their Partnership Conference on the need to support CSOs UPR activities throughout the third UPR cycle. UPR Info enjoys a longstanding partnership with Ugandan CSOs that commenced with a CSO submission workshop and continued with in-country and Geneva pre-sessions prior to the Uganda’s second UPR. We look forward to continued cooperation with all national stakeholders to ensure that the UPR implementation phase result in tangible human rights improvement in Uganda.

More information about the Follow-up Programme can be found here and the Outcome Report and Charter on Uganda is available here.